Serendipity Literary Agency is hosting their annual writer’s Young Adult Discovery Competition. If writers are having trouble pitching ideas, no worries with this contest because they won’t even need a query! Seriously, only the first 250 words will be needed to submit.

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. (There will be great prizes for the top winners!) These submissions will then be read by editors from many of the major publishing houses. Past judges include editors from Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, JIMMY Patterson Books, and Abram Books. Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five winners, including a Grand Prize Winner.

Submissions open on November 1, 2018 at 12:01am (ET) and close on November 30, 2018 at 12:59pm (ET). Only one entry per person with a $15 entry fee. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

For complete guidelines and submission rules, or to watch for their upcoming post about prizes, go here. As always, good luck!

Serendipity Literary Agency is hosting the eighth annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition. If writers are having trouble pitching ideas, no worries with this contest because they won’t even need a query! Seriously, only the first 250 words will be needed to submit.

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. (There will be great prizes for the top winners!) These submissions will then be read by editors from many of the major publishing houses. Past judges include editors from Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, JIMMY Patterson Books, and Abram Books. Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five winners, including a Grand Prize Winner.

Submissions open on November 1, 2017 at 12:01am (ET) and close on November 30, 2017 at 12:59pm (ET). Only one entry per person with a $15 entry fee. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

For complete guidelines and submission rules, or to watch for their upcoming post about prizes, go here. As always, good luck!

Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren is available for preorder and will be released by Bloomsbury Children’s Books USA on April 4, 2017. And yay, I received an ARC for my honest opinion. First, check out the cover! Who doesn’t like a strong female character holding a bow-and-arrow? My mind instantly went to the success of Katniss Everdeen. And when I learned that this young female character named Valor intentionally got herself thrown into prison, I was like “What? Who does that?” and HAD to read the story to see how she conducted herself within the prison walls.

Ruth Lauren wove a great tale of deception that kept me guessing. The story is fast-paced with a character full of courage. Valor vows to break her sister out of Demidova’s prison where no one has escaped in centuries! Oh yeah, I should mention her sister’s serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family. I frequently cringed when Valor talked to another prisoner, worried she’d be exposed for her plans to escape. Punishment within Demidova’s prison were beyond harsh, often ending in a prisoner’s death. And oh my goodness, Ruth painted such a wintry picture of the prison, I stayed bundled in my quilt while reading. Seriously, this is a great read that’ll leave you rooting for Valor and her sister to escape Demidova! (And hoping she’ll wallop a few heads on her way.)

Ruth Lauren lives in a Victorian house in the West Midlands in England with her partner and a lot of children and cats. She likes chocolate, walking in the woods, cheese, orchids, going to the movies, and reading as many books as she can. She’s been a teacher and worked in lots of different offices, but she likes writing best. Prisoner of Ice and Snow is her debut novel. Find her at www.ruthlauren.com or on Twitter at @Ruth__Lauren

Serendipity Literary Agency in conjunction with Sourcebooks Inc. is hosting their seventh annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition. If you’ve had trouble pitching your ideas in the past, no worries with this contest. You won’t even need a query!

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. (There are supposed to be great prizes for the top winners!) These submissions will then be read by editors from many of the major publishing houses. Past judges include editors from Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little, Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, and Abram Books. Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five winners, including a Grand Prize Winner.

Submissions open on November 1, 2016 at 12:01am (ET) and close on November 30, 2016 at 12:59pm (ET). Only one entry per person with a $15 entry fee. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

For complete guidelines and submission rules, or to watch for their upcoming post about prizes, go here.

Great news! Skylark Literary Agency has put together a competition for fiction manuscripts geared toward young readers of ages 13-15. (Non-fiction is not accepted.) They are looking for uplifting stories with a compelling story and strong characters. They are asking that there be no sex in your completed manuscript.

The Prize

The prize will be a one-to-one editorial critique of your finished manuscript by phone, or in person (locations allowing), with Joanna and/or Amber. We will suggest ways in which you could polish and perfect your novel to improve its chances of representation and publication, and seek to answer any queries you may have about the children’s publishing industry in general.

The Deadline!

The deadline for competition entries is March 27, 2016. So CLICK HERE for how to enter together with the full terms and conditions.